474» Queries and Answers. 



he shortly withdrew himself from this hole, and flew to another, into which 

 he intruded himself in the same manner. From this second hole he retired 

 almost immediately, bearing in his beak one of the callow brood. He flew 

 with his spoil to a high chimney at the corner house, followed for a short 

 distance by ten or twelve sparrows clamouring loudly at such an atrocious 

 robbery ; and one sparrow, probably the parent, ventured to pursue even to 

 the chimney-top, as if determined to assail the fell destroyer ; but both the 

 rook and the sparrow quickly disappeared behind the chimney-pot, and 

 prevented any further observation. — S. M. Brook Street, Grosvenor 

 Square, May 31. 1830. 



Migration and Breeding of Sivallows ; in answer to W. H. White (p. 194.). 

 — I consider that there is no longer any doubt that swallows, at the 

 end of the year, do leave Europe, even the most extreme southern parts 

 of it, as the kingdom of Naples, Sicily, the Morea, &c., and migrate ta 

 Africa and Asia. Of their actual migration, an intelligent traveller 

 assures us, " he had the fullest proof in the immense bodies of these 

 birds, which he perceived pushing their way in the direction of Egypt from 

 Europe during the present month (November), when the winter sets 

 in.'* (See W. Rae Wilsoiis Travels in Egypt, p. 7.) In solution of your 

 correspondent's last question, " Do they propagate their species there as 

 well as here ? " 1 would observe, that, it being a well known fact that birds, 

 even in a domestic state, will, if kept warm and well fed, frequently nidifi- 

 cate during our severe winter months ; so I should certainly say, that the 

 J^irundinidae, stimulated by the heat of the countries, and by an abun- 

 dance of food which Asia and Africa afford them at that season, do propa- 

 gate. The parent birds perform the rites of a second incubation ; and 

 the young ones, or those which in the previous summer were born in 

 Europe, do commence the great cpmmand of nature, and in like manner 

 increase and multiply their kind. — J. H. N. March 5. 1830. 



Mother Carey's Chickens^ — A man here who has been much at sea has 

 two preserved birds, which he calls by this name. They are nearly all 

 black, and bear some resemblance to the swallow tribe, but have longer 

 beaks. He says they always forebode a storm at sea, and that there are 

 generally many of them seen round the ship in a storm. I believe them to 

 be the stormy petrel (Procellaria pelagica). Am I correct? — Thomas 

 Morgan. Southampton, June 21. 1830. Yes. — Cond. 



The Cuckoo- Mate. — Sir, As I was walking this morning in the garden, 

 I observed a bird called by some the cuckoo-mate, from its generally appear- 

 ing just before or about the same time with the cuckoo, its note very much 

 resembling the word peep repeated about four times in quick succession. 

 I shot it, and from the beautiful appearance it exhibited I was induced to 

 think it might be worthy a place in some cabinet. The greatest singularity 

 belonging to the bird is the great length of its tongue, it being upwards of 

 3 in. in length, and about half an inch of the point of a stiff horny sub- 

 stance. I will do myself the honour of presenting it to you. Should it 

 prove acceptable, I shall feel highly gratified. Yours, &c. — C. Spring. 

 Eastbourne, Sussex, May 3. 1830. 



The bird here referred to is the wryneck ( Funx Torquilla of Linnaeus) j 

 probably so called from a habit it exhibits of moving the head and neck in 

 various directions, sometimes describing parts of circles, at others from side 

 to side^ with an undulating motion not unlike the actions of the snake, and 

 in some counties in England this bird is called the snakebird from this cii- 

 cumstance.. When found upon its nest, within a hole in a tree, it makes a 

 loud hissing noise, sets up an elongated crest, and writhing its head and 

 neck towards each shoulder alternately, with grotesque contortions, be- 

 comes an object of terror to a timid intruder, and the bird, taking advantage 

 of a moment of indecision, darts with the rapidity of lightning from a situ- 

 ation whence escape seemed impossible. 



